It may spoil the look of the lid (4)
I believe the answer is:
stye
'look of the lid' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both states of affairs as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'it may spoil' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sye' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stye that I've seen before include "Viewer's complaint" , "Eye sore" , "Seeing problem" , "makes viewer sore" , "Inflamed swelling on the edge of an eyelid" .)